COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Among Pediatric Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant Patients
<b>Background/Objectives:</b> Vaccine hesitancy among immunocompromised patients is complex and not well understood. This study aimed to determine the rate of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among pediatric oncology and bone marrow transplant (BMT) patients and to understand associated factor...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2024-12-01
|
| Series: | Vaccines |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/12/12/1407 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1846102416801398784 |
|---|---|
| author | Sarah A. O’Neill Son Tran Cora Constantinescu Tony H. Truong |
| author_facet | Sarah A. O’Neill Son Tran Cora Constantinescu Tony H. Truong |
| author_sort | Sarah A. O’Neill |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <b>Background/Objectives:</b> Vaccine hesitancy among immunocompromised patients is complex and not well understood. This study aimed to determine the rate of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among pediatric oncology and bone marrow transplant (BMT) patients and to understand associated factors. <b>Methods</b>: Parents of patients (≤18 years) with cancer or post-BMT completed the Parent Attitudes about Childhood Vaccines Survey. A COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy score (VHS-COVID) was calculated from 0 to 100 (higher scores indicating increasing hesitancy). A small group of patients (patients older than 15 years) were also surveyed directly. <b>Results</b>: Among 113 parent respondents, the majority were female (58%) and at least college/university educated (78%). The majority (73%) of patients had cancer (61% leukemia/lymphoma, 37% solid/CNS tumors), while 27% had received BMT for malignant and non-malignant conditions. Only 48% of patients had been vaccinated against COVID-19, compared to 88% of parents. Ineligibility due to phase of cancer/BMT treatment (27%), vaccine hesitancy (24%), and age (24%) were the top three reasons for not vaccinating against COVID-19. Only 13% of parents said they would “definitely vaccinate” if their child became eligible. VHS-COVID scores were higher for parents of patients in surveillance versus active therapy (mean 61 vs. 48; <i>p</i> = 0.03). Parents who had received fewer COVID-19 vaccine doses (0–1 vs. ≥2) were more hesitant toward all vaccines (<i>p</i> = 0.0002), COVID-19 vaccines (<i>p</i> = 0.0003), and influenza vaccines (<i>p</i> = 0.005). <b>Conclusions:</b> Vaccine hesitancy is common among this population and was demonstrated through beliefs (hesitancy scores) as well as vaccine uptake. Future work should focus on education targeting vaccine eligibility and engaging with vaccine hesitant families in the immunocompromised community. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4ad594f3ca854cc5bb144b4a7ad957ef |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2076-393X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Vaccines |
| spelling | doaj-art-4ad594f3ca854cc5bb144b4a7ad957ef2024-12-27T14:58:07ZengMDPI AGVaccines2076-393X2024-12-011212140710.3390/vaccines12121407COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Among Pediatric Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant PatientsSarah A. O’Neill0Son Tran1Cora Constantinescu2Tony H. Truong3Department of Pediatrics, Alberta Children’s Hospital, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, CanadaDalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A1, CanadaSection of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Alberta Children’s Hospital, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, CanadaSection of Pediatric Oncology and Cellular Therapy, Department of Pediatrics, Alberta Children’s Hospital, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada<b>Background/Objectives:</b> Vaccine hesitancy among immunocompromised patients is complex and not well understood. This study aimed to determine the rate of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among pediatric oncology and bone marrow transplant (BMT) patients and to understand associated factors. <b>Methods</b>: Parents of patients (≤18 years) with cancer or post-BMT completed the Parent Attitudes about Childhood Vaccines Survey. A COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy score (VHS-COVID) was calculated from 0 to 100 (higher scores indicating increasing hesitancy). A small group of patients (patients older than 15 years) were also surveyed directly. <b>Results</b>: Among 113 parent respondents, the majority were female (58%) and at least college/university educated (78%). The majority (73%) of patients had cancer (61% leukemia/lymphoma, 37% solid/CNS tumors), while 27% had received BMT for malignant and non-malignant conditions. Only 48% of patients had been vaccinated against COVID-19, compared to 88% of parents. Ineligibility due to phase of cancer/BMT treatment (27%), vaccine hesitancy (24%), and age (24%) were the top three reasons for not vaccinating against COVID-19. Only 13% of parents said they would “definitely vaccinate” if their child became eligible. VHS-COVID scores were higher for parents of patients in surveillance versus active therapy (mean 61 vs. 48; <i>p</i> = 0.03). Parents who had received fewer COVID-19 vaccine doses (0–1 vs. ≥2) were more hesitant toward all vaccines (<i>p</i> = 0.0002), COVID-19 vaccines (<i>p</i> = 0.0003), and influenza vaccines (<i>p</i> = 0.005). <b>Conclusions:</b> Vaccine hesitancy is common among this population and was demonstrated through beliefs (hesitancy scores) as well as vaccine uptake. Future work should focus on education targeting vaccine eligibility and engaging with vaccine hesitant families in the immunocompromised community.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/12/12/1407vaccine hesitancyvaccinationimmunizationcancerpediatricimmunocompromised |
| spellingShingle | Sarah A. O’Neill Son Tran Cora Constantinescu Tony H. Truong COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Among Pediatric Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant Patients Vaccines vaccine hesitancy vaccination immunization cancer pediatric immunocompromised |
| title | COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Among Pediatric Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant Patients |
| title_full | COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Among Pediatric Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant Patients |
| title_fullStr | COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Among Pediatric Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant Patients |
| title_full_unstemmed | COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Among Pediatric Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant Patients |
| title_short | COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Among Pediatric Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant Patients |
| title_sort | covid 19 vaccine hesitancy among pediatric oncology and bone marrow transplant patients |
| topic | vaccine hesitancy vaccination immunization cancer pediatric immunocompromised |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/12/12/1407 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sarahaoneill covid19vaccinehesitancyamongpediatriconcologyandbonemarrowtransplantpatients AT sontran covid19vaccinehesitancyamongpediatriconcologyandbonemarrowtransplantpatients AT coraconstantinescu covid19vaccinehesitancyamongpediatriconcologyandbonemarrowtransplantpatients AT tonyhtruong covid19vaccinehesitancyamongpediatriconcologyandbonemarrowtransplantpatients |